MUSIC REVIEW : Spassov Leads Garden Grove Symphony in 3 Bulgarian Works, One His

“When East Meets West” was how the program was touted at Don Wash Auditorium Saturday night. If it was not love at first sight and sound, at least a genuine respect emerged from the musical proceedings.

Imported from Bulgaria via an exchange program, Ivan Spassov led two of his countrymen’s works with the Garden Grove Symphony in their U.S. premieres, plus the first U.S. performance as well of his own Cello Concerto. As a composer, the music director of the Pazardzhik Philharmonic proved moderately interesting; as a conductor, there was a surprise in store.

No virtuoso vehicle for soloist Vicki Anglin, Spassov’s 1984 concerto broods and groans not unlike Shostakovich in the beginning, and leaves its questions unanswered a la Ives at the close.

But the bulk of both of its movements revolve around aleatoric techniques. These chance events in the more compelling “Passacaglia” feature each of the first-chair strings with the solo cello, culminating in a magical re-entry of the full orchestra with the improvisational elements still in place.

The concluding “Rustico” argues an angrier rhetoric less persuasively; undaunted by the arsenal of avant-garde techniques, Anglin provided poignant artistry in the hushed and ambiguous conclusion. The large audience showed muted enthusiasm.

The other imported fare garnered scarcely greater responses; pleasantly accessible, neither work set the blood racing.

Petko Stainov’s “Rachenitza” (1926), a folk dance in 7/8 meter, relies solely on that quirky rhythm for its charms. Despite the secure and brisk playing Spassov elicited, the metrical device quickly wore out its welcome.

And the contemporaneous “Bulgarian Rhapsody” of Pancho Vladiguerov simply alternates a lushly scored folk tune with wind writing of some sparkle, but ultimately lacking fire.

The surprise then, came none too soon: Musically, at least, Spassov’s heart lies with Mozart, not his compatriots. The Divertimento in F, K. 138, revealed the wide array of expressive techniques Spassov commands, as well as a keen ear for inner balances.

With orchestra and audience now fully warmed up, music director Edward Peterson provided a sensuous and robust reading of Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” and a ripely scored arrangement of a Bulgarian folk song as an encore.

But Spassov had the last word--and a spontaneous standing ovation--with a rousing reading of “Stars and Stripes Forever.”